Nehi facts for kids
Advertisement for Nehi soda on a matchcover
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| Type | Soda |
|---|---|
| Inventor | Claud A. Hatcher |
| Inception | 1924 |
| Manufacturer | Nehi Corporation (1928–1955), Royal Crown Company (1955–2008), Dr Pepper Snapple Group (2008–present) |
| Available | Yes |
| Website | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 168: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
Nehi is a tasty flavored soft drink that started in the United States. It was first made in 1924. A grocer named Claud A. Hatcher from Columbus, Georgia, created it. He had already been bottling ginger ale and root beer since 1905.
The company that made Nehi was first called Chero-Cola/Union Bottle Works. In 1928, they changed their name to "Nehi Corporation" because the fruit-flavored Nehi sodas became very popular. Later, in 1955, the company changed its name again to Royal Crown Company. This happened after their RC Cola drink became a big hit. Since April 2008, Nehi has been a brand of Keurig Dr Pepper in the United States.
Contents
The Story of Nehi Soda
The Chero-Cola company added Nehi Cola to its drink list in 1924. They wanted to offer more flavors to people. This new soda was the idea of a businessman named Claud A. Hatcher. The name "Nehi" was chosen to remind customers that the bottles were "knee-high" tall.
Nehi offered many flavors like orange, grape, root beer, and peach. It became popular very quickly. In fact, Nehi sodas sold much better than Chero-Cola itself!
Growing and Facing Challenges
The company changed its name to the Nehi Corporation in 1928. It even became a public company, listed on the New York Curb Exchange. Business was going well until 1930. At that time, a big economic problem called the Great Depression hit.
Because of this, the Nehi Corporation's sales dropped a lot. They lost about $1 million in sales in 1930. Sales kept going down until 1932. That was the only year the company actually lost money.
By 1933, things started to get better. But then, a sad event happened. Claud A. Hatcher, the company's founder and leader, passed away suddenly on December 31, 1933.
H. R. Mott, who had been a vice president, took over as the new president. He faced a lot of company debt. But he was determined to pay off the debt quickly. He made changes to how the company worked and cut down on costs. Within a year, the Nehi Corporation was out of debt and ready to grow again.
How Nehi Was Advertised
In the early 1900s, Nehi's advertisements often showed a picture of a seated woman's legs. Her skirt was high enough to show her stockings up to the knee. This was to help people remember the name "knee-high" and how to say "Nehi."
This kind of advertisement was seen in the movie Paper Moon. It was also referenced in the movie A Christmas Story. In that movie, a famous "Leg Lamp" was inspired by a Nehi logo.
A famous radio show host, Robert Ripley, advertised Nehi on his show Ripley's Believe It or Not!. This helped make the new RC Cola brand very popular. By 1940, the company was doing well financially.
After World War II, the company started to use famous people in its ads. Stars like Bing Crosby, Joan Crawford, and Bob Hope helped sell Nehi products. In 1947, Hedy Lamarr was featured in store advertisements. That year was one of the company's best.
At that time, Nehi Corporation offered more than 10 flavors. These included Dr. Nehi, Nehi Chocolate, Nehi Root Beer, Nehi Lemonade, Nehi Wild Red, and Nehi Blue Cream. They also had their classic flavors: Nehi Orange, Nehi Grape, and Nehi Peach. Many of these flavors were later stopped as they became less popular.
In the TV show M*A*S*H, set during the Korean War, the character Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly loved Grape Nehi. This shows how popular the drink was back then.
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